, where I am soon to join them."

"And these persons are--?"

"Precisely, Monsieur Benett, precisely; but I must beg you to say
nothing about it. I don't wish their arrival to be noised abroad yet."

"Poor girl!"

"Yes, she has suffered terribly."

"And you wish her to be present at the drawing, though the ticket her
betrothed bequeathed to her is no longer in her possession?"

"It is not my wish, Monsieur Benett, but that of Ole Kamp, and I
say to you as I have said to others, Ole Kamp's last wishes would be
obeyed."

"Unquestionably. What you do is not only right, but always for the
best, professor."

"You are flattering me now, dear Monsieur Benett."

"Not at all. But it was a lucky day for them when the Hansen family
made your acquaintance."

"Nonsense! it was a much more fortunate thing for me that they crossed
my path."

"I see that you have the same kind heart still."

"Well, as one is obliged to have a heart it is best to have a good
one, isn't it?" retorted the professor, with a genial smile. "But you
needn't suppose that I came here merely in search of compliments," he
continued. "It was for an entirely different object, I assure you."

"Believe me, I am quite at your service."

"You are aware, I suppose, that but for the timely intervention of
Joel and Hulda Hansen, the Rjukanfos would never have yielded me up
alive, and I should not have the pleasure of seeing you to-day?"

"Yes, yes, I know," replied Mr. Benett. "The papers have published
full accounts of your adventure, and those courageous young people
really deserve to win the capital prize."

"That is my opinion," answered Sylvius Hogg, "but as that is quite out
of the question now, I am unwilling for my friend Hulda to return
to Dal without some little gift as a sort of memento of her visit to
Christiania."

"That is certainly an excellent idea, Mr. Hogg."

"So you must assist me in selecting something that would be likely to
please a young girl."

"Very willingly," responded Mr. Benett. And he forthwith invited the
professor to step into the jewelry department, for was not a Norwegian
ornament the most charming souvenir that one could take away with one
from Christiania and from Mr. Benett's wonderful establishment?

Such at least was the opinion of Sylvius Hogg when the genial merchant
exhibited the contents of his show-cases.

"As I am no connoisseur in such matters I must be guided by your
taste, Mr. Benett," he remarked